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俗话说“天下没有免费的午餐”——如今通过网络，你不但可以找到自己梦寐以求的宝物，而且还是费用全免？！下面给大家介绍全世界规模数一数二的交换网站的兴起历程，看看它如何在起到环保公益作用的同时，又给人带来无穷的温暖与乐趣。
It all started with one 1)innocuous email.
Deron Beal just wanted to empty a 2)warehouse of charity donations without 3)overwhelming the local 4)landfill.
Now with 6.2 million members in more than 75 countries, the Freecycle Network is one of the largest green grassroots movements in the world. Members exchange household items, electronics, clothing and more in an effort to keep useful products in 5)circulation and out of the trash – and it’s all free.
The 6)premise of the Freecycle Network is simple. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you don’t want it, chances are someone else does. The only catch: it must be free and it must be local. Items are never sold or 7)bartered and never mailed to distant locations.
As founder and 8)executive director, Beal has had a big hand in transforming the group into an award-winning non-profit one that the 9)Environmental Protection Agency called, “a revolution in reuse,” but it all started with that e-mail.
“We drove around in a pickup truck, collecting more stuff than we could possibly use,” he said. “We couldn’t give the items away quick enough. I had to find a way to get rid of it before it filled the whole warehouse.”
So he sent out an e-mail to a few friends and a handful of non-profit groups. The response was astonishing. Within six weeks, the informal e-mail list had included 600 to 800 members, all giving away – and getting – items for free.
From outdated electronics and gently used furniture to second-hand clothing and baby items, members exchange just about anything and everything 10)under the sun. One member even posted a historic home to the site with one 11)caveat: the 12)recipient had to 13)haul it off site to make way for a new development.
“When we saw how successful it continued to be in Tucson, we started instructing other
communities on how to start their own group, and it just kept growing and growing.” Beal said.
一切都是从一封无伤大雅的电子邮件开始的。
德隆·比尔当时只不过想将一间堆满了慈善捐赠品的仓库清理干净，但又不希望令当地的垃圾填埋场不堪负荷。
而今，作为全世界最大型的草根阶层环保运动之一，“全球捐赠网”已经拥有来自超过75个国家的620万名成员。成员相互交换家用物品、电器、衣物，更重要的是为了将有用的物品循环再用，而不是当作垃圾扔掉——而且这一切都是免费的。
建立全球捐赠网的初衷很简单：一个人的废物或许是另一个人的宝物。如果你不需要它，也许其他人正等着呢。唯一的问题是：物品必须免费赠送，而且必须在本地进行；物品不得出售或交换，且绝不寄送至外地。
作为机构的创办人兼执行理事，比尔花费了大量的心血才将它变成一个获奖无数的非盈利性团体。美国环境保护署称其为“一场循环再用的革命”，而这一切的开始不过是一封电邮。
“我们开着一辆小货车四处晃荡，收集到的东西怎么都用不完，”他说。“我们没办法尽快送出这些东西。我必须在东西塞满仓库之前把它们处理掉。”
于是他发了一封电邮给一些朋友和几个非盈利性组织，结果得到了惊人的回应。在短短六个星期之内，这封不太正式的电邮已经发给了600到800人，大家（通过这种方式）送出或获得物品——费用全免。
从过时的电器和八九成新的家具到二手衣物和婴儿用品，成员们交换着各种各样的东西。一个成员甚至在网站上公布了一栋古老大屋的赠送信息，并附公告说：接收者必须将整栋大屋搬走，为社区新发展让路。
“看见这项活动在（美国）图森市成功壮大，我们开始指导其他社区创建自己的交换组织，随后这个运动就蔓延开来了，”比尔说道。
It all started with one 1)innocuous email.
Deron Beal just wanted to empty a 2)warehouse of charity donations without 3)overwhelming the local 4)landfill.
Now with 6.2 million members in more than 75 countries, the Freecycle Network is one of the largest green grassroots movements in the world. Members exchange household items, electronics, clothing and more in an effort to keep useful products in 5)circulation and out of the trash – and it’s all free.
The 6)premise of the Freecycle Network is simple. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you don’t want it, chances are someone else does. The only catch: it must be free and it must be local. Items are never sold or 7)bartered and never mailed to distant locations.
As founder and 8)executive director, Beal has had a big hand in transforming the group into an award-winning non-profit one that the 9)Environmental Protection Agency called, “a revolution in reuse,” but it all started with that e-mail.
“We drove around in a pickup truck, collecting more stuff than we could possibly use,” he said. “We couldn’t give the items away quick enough. I had to find a way to get rid of it before it filled the whole warehouse.”
So he sent out an e-mail to a few friends and a handful of non-profit groups. The response was astonishing. Within six weeks, the informal e-mail list had included 600 to 800 members, all giving away – and getting – items for free.
From outdated electronics and gently used furniture to second-hand clothing and baby items, members exchange just about anything and everything 10)under the sun. One member even posted a historic home to the site with one 11)caveat: the 12)recipient had to 13)haul it off site to make way for a new development.
“When we saw how successful it continued to be in Tucson, we started instructing other
communities on how to start their own group, and it just kept growing and growing.” Beal said.
一切都是从一封无伤大雅的电子邮件开始的。
德隆·比尔当时只不过想将一间堆满了慈善捐赠品的仓库清理干净，但又不希望令当地的垃圾填埋场不堪负荷。
而今，作为全世界最大型的草根阶层环保运动之一，“全球捐赠网”已经拥有来自超过75个国家的620万名成员。成员相互交换家用物品、电器、衣物，更重要的是为了将有用的物品循环再用，而不是当作垃圾扔掉——而且这一切都是免费的。
建立全球捐赠网的初衷很简单：一个人的废物或许是另一个人的宝物。如果你不需要它，也许其他人正等着呢。唯一的问题是：物品必须免费赠送，而且必须在本地进行；物品不得出售或交换，且绝不寄送至外地。
作为机构的创办人兼执行理事，比尔花费了大量的心血才将它变成一个获奖无数的非盈利性团体。美国环境保护署称其为“一场循环再用的革命”，而这一切的开始不过是一封电邮。
“我们开着一辆小货车四处晃荡，收集到的东西怎么都用不完，”他说。“我们没办法尽快送出这些东西。我必须在东西塞满仓库之前把它们处理掉。”
于是他发了一封电邮给一些朋友和几个非盈利性组织，结果得到了惊人的回应。在短短六个星期之内，这封不太正式的电邮已经发给了600到800人，大家（通过这种方式）送出或获得物品——费用全免。
从过时的电器和八九成新的家具到二手衣物和婴儿用品，成员们交换着各种各样的东西。一个成员甚至在网站上公布了一栋古老大屋的赠送信息，并附公告说：接收者必须将整栋大屋搬走，为社区新发展让路。
“看见这项活动在（美国）图森市成功壮大，我们开始指导其他社区创建自己的交换组织，随后这个运动就蔓延开来了，”比尔说道。